paddling apparel

While wearing a drytop and shorts with fleece might be adequate for low elevation warm-water summer trips, this combo could prove to be miserable or worse at other times and or locations. Regardless of how dry your boat/skirt is, if you have to get out of your boat to scout/portage, your lower half will eventually get wet. Even in nice weather, it doesn’t take much of this to get chilled. Now, throw some cool temperatures in, a breeze, rain, or a little Idaho summer snowstorm and the situation can get miserable in a hurry. More critical than your immediate comfort though is if you or one of your friends runs into trouble. At that point, you are in an entirely different ball game.

Benefits of a drysuit
Besides the safety factors and upped personal comfort level, there's another benefit to wearing a drysuit while self-supporting: You will have dry clothes on when you get to camp. Your paddling and camp clothes can be one and the same. Double duty! This means less clothing you will have to carry in your boat, which equates to saved weight and less bulk.

Getting warm inside that suit? No problem. Roll, kneel or have lunch in the water. For me, it's easier to cool off than warm up. I gladly don my suit on everything but the hottest of summer trips.

Shopping for a drysuit
Many people shy away from drysuits because of the expense involved and the inconveniences of urinating. However, many shops have them on their year-end closeout sales (I have seen them up to 40% off) and even at full retail, there are some reasonably priced suits available now. And every major manufacturer has offerings with relief zippers.

With a price tag ranging from around $500 to over $1000, a drysuit with all the above features will be your most expensive peice of gear...but, invaluable if you are serious about your comfort and safety. In many cases, a drysuit can easily be the difference between comfort and misery. In some cases, a drysuit could be the difference between surviving or not.

Absolutely can not afford a drysuit? Though there is nothing that is as good as a one-piece drysuit, there are a couple options that would beat not having one. One is a pair of dry bibs that mate to your drytop. Like true drysuits, bibs come in the standard nylon or breathable materials and with or without built-in socks and relief zippers. Sealing methods vary from neoprene body tubes to rolling the drytops skirt tunnel to the tunnel on the bibs.

The concept is good. However, submersion dryness varies and as such, bibs should not be considered as reliable as a true drysuit. And, because of the extra material around the mid section, bibs are not nearly as comfortable. Lastly, without a relief zipper, urinating will be even more of a hassle than it is with a zipperless drysuit.

Neoprene wet suits were the standard before drysuits became available. They will certainly help ward off hypothermia in less severe environments and offer some impact protection during swims. They do not offer the same level of cold water protection or any where near the comfort of a drysuit though. And neoprene takes so long to dry, if you get it wet one day, you'll likely be putting it on damp or wet the next day. Not a pleasant thought if you wake up to snow! You'll also have to pack camp clothes in your drybags (meaning extra weight & bulk) as opposed to already having them on under a drysuit. Neoprene is however, by far the least expensive and most trouble-free option. Neoprene can also be used in conjunction with your sleeping pad or as a stand-alone pad if dry.

What about dry pants? Ease of use and low prices made pants with latex gaskets on the ankles quite popular at one time. However, I don’t consider these “dry pants” any kind of substitue to a drysuit nor do I recommend them. Their ability to keep water out in strong hydraulics and or long submersions is questionable. And if enough water got past the waist seal and in to the pant legs, your ability to effectively swim could be severely comprimised. There is at least one documented case of this contributing to a drowning.

Getting a lace caught on the brake pedal at a notoriously dangerous intersection caused me to ponder the potential ramifications of shoe laces in kayaking. Since then, all my paddling shoes have had cord locks to eliminate the resulting large loops. Yes, a loop would probably come undone if caught. When I become aware of possible issues though, I see no reason not to take corrective measures. Also, what would you do if you lost a shoe during a swim, and your boat too? To insure my shoes stay on my feet, I run light webbing straps with side release buckles through the small loop on the back of the shoes and around my ankle. To minimize adding another snag hazard, I size the strap to be as snug to my ankle as possible without being uncomfortable. There's little chance of a higher topped shoe coming off but, with regular trail-running type shoes, you can never be too sure.

Shoes
Shoes are one of the most often over looked pieces of equipment in kayaking. For self-support, a reliable pair is an absolute must, and while it may seem like common sense, so is wearing them in the kayak. Shoes are worthless if they’re in a boat floating down stream without the paddler.

Constantly be asking yourself "what if". Imagine having to hike out. It is one thing to hike a few miles out of an urban area creek but an entirely different animal to hike 15, 30 or more miles out of a trailless wilderness canyon. Unless your feet are ungodly tough from daily barefooting, you are in dire straights without shoes! Shoes will also allow quicker reaction times in emergencies.

Wear the most secure, and reliable pair of shoes that will fit in your boat... and think twice about wearing sandals. Sandals do little to protect your feet when walking through brush and there has been at least one documented case of them causing fatal foot entrapment in the river bed. They can catch on boat outfitting too as proven by a friend of mine during a wet exit. His sandal got caught under the front edge of his kayak's seat breaking a bone in his foot in the process.

Additional tips

camp apparel

At camp: wet paddling shoes over Gore-Tex socks over dry fleece socks. These Gore-Tex socks were tall and loose on top so I cut them down & added a bungee cord closure to keep debris out.

Footwear
I used to pack neoprene socks reinforced with Aqua Seal on the soles for warm camp wear. This worked out pretty nice but realized a few ounces could be saved by going another route. If I’m wearing my drysuit, which has built-in socks, I’ll just pack a pair of Gore-Tex socks in my drybags and call it good. Once at camp, I'll take my drysuit off, slip the Gore-Tex socks over the dry socks I was just wearing inside my drysuit then put my paddling shoes back on.

With the Gore-Tex socks, it doesn’t matter if the shoes are soaked. My feet stay dry. This method leaves me with dry socks to wear to bed as well. If I’m not wearing my drysuit, I’ll just pack a pair of synthetic socks in addition to my gore-tex socks. If it's a trip in warmer months, I'll just go barefoot if I don't feel like wearing my wet paddling shoes.

For sandal afficionados, check out these easy to make 1 ounce flip-flops.

"Does this outfit make me look fat?" My morning attire in cool subalpine: Western Mountaineering Linelite hybrid sleeping bag over 1 oz poncho VBL (the orange thing) over insulative layers I wore under my drysuit. On my feet are river shoes over Gore-Tex socks (see above photo). Minus the shoes, this is the same get-up I slept in inside my bivy shelter.

Clothes
The clothes you bring for camp wear depends on the locale, weather, time of year and whether or not you’re wearing a drysuit and have a sleeping bag that’s wearable.

In the hottest of trips, I will bring nothing more than what I wear inside my kayak. Typically though, I’ll bring a pair of synthetic shorts that I slip on once to camp. By the time the temps have cooled down in the evening, my wet river clothes are usaully dry enough to don again. Or, if I wore my drysuit, I already have dry clothes that were worn under. If these clothes aren’t warm enough, I just put on my hybrid Linelite sleeping bag. Further still, I can wear my poncho under the sleeping bag (as shown in photo on right) or over if it's sprinkling.

It may not seem like much but the above has served me well in a variety of environments and temps. It's a highly versatile and systematic approach that allows me to keep my load light and compact.

In cooler conditions, I'll bring a lightweight down jacket and pants. Extra fleece works in place of down clothing but to equal the warmth of even the lightest down garments, the fleece will be two to three times heavier and far bulkier.

Keep an eye on the weather forecasts prior to your trip.
The NOAA is considered the standard for forecasting. Type in your "location" then use their topo map to hone in on your expected camp sites. More often than not, I have found their forecasts to be spot on up to four days out. Adjust your clothing accordingly. You'll either save weight and bulk...or yourself from being uncomfortably cold. Always pack in context.

YO! This is a super cheap, super light, breathable and warm rainsuit that'll keep you dry for about 2 hrs in a steady medium rain...enough time for general camp chores. It's simply a pair of polypro or Tyvek disposable work coveralls found in the paint department of your local hardware store. If you can't find them with a hood, make your own from sil-nylon as I did with this simple hood pattern (do a Google translation). This get up weighs 7 oz and cost around $10...and though "disposable", will last several seasons with a bit of care...as long or longer than the Frogg Toggs Driducks. Guaranteed to generate camp discussion.

Rain protection
Although rain suits are nice, they are not overly versatile. Ponchos on the otherhand have many uses. Besides being rainwear, a poncho can be used as a ground cloth; shelter for hanging river clothes under on a rainy night; extra shelter vestibule space; a dry area for cooking in the rain (if set high enough); changing pad; and if it’s brightly colored, a signaling device (notice how bright this red poncho is). I take a poncho every time. Depending on the conditions, it'll be a 3.6 oz homemade cuben fiber job, or generic .99 cent 1 oz plastic poncho as shown in above photo (translucent orange under sleeping bag).

While ponchos work great in light rain or shorter hard showers, for sustained use in heavy rain, a rain suit may keep you dryer. The suit is also less apt to snag on brush given the material forms against the body as opposed to hanging off the body like a poncho. That said, if I were going to be hiking around in lots of rain, I'd consider a rain suit consisting of a hooded jacket and matching pants...something breathable yet waterproof, light and inexpensive. At less than $20 and weighing 10 ounces, the Frogg Toggs DriDucks fit that bill perfectly. While fragile, they get rave reviews otherwise from many backpackers. They reportedly hold up fine too for those willling to exercise a little caution. Don't sit on rough rocks or bushwhack in them.